Can humans create meaning? Can God?
Sean Carroll is an excellent scientist and philosopher. One of his greatest virtues is that he understands both the important role that philosophy must play in the scientific enterprise and that there are some questions that science is not situated to answer and that are the province of philosophy. It is always worthwhile to listen … Can humans create meaning? Can God?
Unapologetic Review – Part 4: More Effort Required
“Communication is Hard” My wife is a very intelligent woman. I enjoy discussing religion, politics, and philosophy with her. When I lay out an argument, either for my own viewpoint or (as the devil’s advocate) for some alternative viewpoint, she almost always raises one or two sharp objections to the argument. She is also a … Unapologetic Review – Part 4: More Effort Required
Unapologetic Review – Part 3: The Main Argument
I cannot recommend the book Unapologetic by John Loftus, because I have not carefully read the whole book yet. But I have read Chapter 5, which I take to be the heart of the book, and I can recommend reading Chapter 5 of Unapologetic. It is an interesting, informative, and thought-provoking chapter about the philosophy … Unapologetic Review – Part 3: The Main Argument
The VICTIMs of Christian Apologetics
My latest video, “The VICTIMs of Christian Apologetics: The Things Apologists Falsely Say Depend on God, But, if God Exists, God Depends on Them,” is now available on YouTube. It is a narration of some of the many hundreds of PowerPoint slides I created in preparation for my recent debate with Frank Turek on naturalism vs. … The VICTIMs of Christian Apologetics
What is Faith? – Part 8
In the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (1999; hereafter: BECA), Geisler has written a fairly long and detailed article on “Faith and Reason”, and the entire article is basically an exposition of the views of Aquinas about faith and the relationship between faith and reason. There are nine bolded subheadings in Geisler’s article on “Faith … What is Faith? – Part 8
What is Faith? – Part 7
I’m going to take a detour and temporarily set Mr. Swinburne’s characterization of the Thomist view of faith aside. But I will continue to examine the Thomist view of faith, specifically as presented by Dr. Norman Geisler. As Jeff Lowder has recently shown, Dr. Geisler’s case for Christianity is a failure. IMHO Jeff won that … What is Faith? – Part 7
What is Faith – Part 6
I have noticed a problem of unclarity in my own thinking and writing about the Thomist view of faith. Before I go further in discussing Swinburne’s characterization of the Thomist view of faith, I want to briefly consider the point of unclarity or ambiguity in my previous discussion of this view of faith. I have … What is Faith – Part 6
What is Faith? – Part 5
We have been examining the Thomist view of faith, as characterized by Richard Swinburne in Faith and Reason (FAR). In order to avoid the implication that one must reason in a circle in order to have ‘faith in God’, a supporter of the Thomist view of faith can draw a distinction between beliefs about God … What is Faith? – Part 5
A Key Difference between Science and Religion
In science, we ask, “What’s the evidence?”, before believing. Only religion* asks us to believe first and consider the evidence later, if ever. Two clarifications: 1. I am not claiming that all religions do this. Rather, I’m claiming that if/when this happens, it only seems to happen in the context of religion. (If I’ve missed … A Key Difference between Science and Religion